Monday, January 19, 2009

Miracle on the Hudson (and on Penn Cove)

The news this week of the dramatic water landing of US Air jet into the Hudson River off of Manhattan reminded me of Coupeville’s own small town miracle of a water crash landing by a jet 5 ½ years ago.

On the morning of July 23, 2004 a friend of mine, Mark, was drinking a latte at the end of the Coupeville Wharf when he heard a plane coming in low. Seconds later, he watched a small jet crash into Penn Cove. All three on board (one was a dog) swam to safety. The jet sank and Mark came back with an amazing story.

Back then we lived on the other side of Whidbey Island at Fort Casey. If we were here at the Lovejoy Inn – we could have watched it all unfold from the living room.

Our favorite part of the Lovejoy Inn is our location. We are in the center of town. 300 yards to Penn Cove and the Coupeville Wharf, 275 yards to Toby’s Tavern, 200 yards to the Bayleaf wine shop and deli, 175 yards to the Farmer’s Market, 150 yards to the Coupeville Library, 50 yards off Main Street. Our neighbors include our daughter’s piano teacher and on the other side of the block the Methodist Church (built by H.B. Lovejoy).

We love this little town! It’s picturesque (some call it Mayberry). It gets a lot less rain than Seattle or Vancouver (I’m not lying – it’s called the Rain Shadow effect - 18” per year in Coupeville, 36” in Seattle, 46” in Vancouver). There’s good coffee, good wine, nice lodging, and above all . . .